Remove clutch hydraulic linkage through engine compartment
(I positioned a drain pan below, cut the line, drained the fluid into it by opening the MC cap, and slid it right out)

Disconnect clutch pedal position wires
(mine did not have these)

Assembly:

Be sure master cylinder cap is on tight

Position clutch linkage components in vehicle

Work slave cylinder downward through engine bay so that hydraulic line is tight to body, parallel to brake & gas lines
(Ok, the line on mine did not want to fit between the brake booster and the seam at the dash panel/cowl. I had to get a little ugly on it with pliers so that the line would go down behind there. When you take yours out, see if it fits through there, and do what you need to before putting the new one in.)

Insert slave cylinder push rod through clutch housing opening and into release lever. Be sure cap on end of rod is securely engaging in lever. Check this before installing cylinder attaching nuts.
(Don't take the white plastic piece off the slave, it's designed to break off inside the first time you use the clutch.)

I wanted to say Thank you for such a great write up, I had been dragging my feet doing this for the last month of so. I order the same part from rock auto and It was a pretty easy install, took about an hour to do.

I gots an 85 XJ with the 2.5/5speed manual. I can -see- the slave.. barely. How the flip do I get to that sucker without dropping the whole shebang? I'z got it on a driveway where certain people wouldn't take kindly to me doing anything visably major so If someones got any tricks for this I'd LOVE to hear it so I don't has to take it to a shop

I gots an 85 XJ with the 2.5/5speed manual. I can -see- the slave.. barely. How the flip do I get to that sucker without dropping the whole shebang? I'z got it on a driveway where certain people wouldn't take kindly to me doing anything visably major so If someones got any tricks for this I'd LOVE to hear it so I don't has to take it to a shop

I have the same setup, just with the 4-speed. Replaced the whole system with a solid steel line... new slave and master for under $50. Went with Wagner for the brand. Moved the bleed valve to the top of the engine bay for easy bleeding as well. :-)

Its a knucklebusting job, just get a good extension and angle joint. Bench bleed the system before putting in though, it will save you lots of time. :-)

I have the same setup, just with the 4-speed. Replaced the whole system with a solid steel line... new slave and master for under $50. Went with Wagner for the brand. Moved the bleed valve to the top of the engine bay for easy bleeding as well. :-)

Its a knucklebusting job, just get a good extension and angle joint. Bench bleed the system before putting in though, it will save you lots of time. :-)

Wow. So no dropping the tranny? Did you take anything else out to get to it? Maybe i just didn't look at it rit but it seems pretty well crammed back there. I could barely fit my wrench in there to bleed the system (which only made the clutch problem worse..)

I gots an 85 XJ with the 2.5/5speed manual. I can -see- the slave.. barely. How the flip do I get to that sucker without dropping the whole shebang? I'z got it on a driveway where certain people wouldn't take kindly to me doing anything visably major so If someones got any tricks for this I'd LOVE to hear it so I don't has to take it to a shop

If you remove the center console on the inside and then the shifter boot and shifter assembly, the top slave cylinder bolt and bleeder valve are easy to get to. All that is easy to remove and replace, takes only a few minutes. You do need to pull the upper shift boot up on the driver side to access a screw that you cant see for the main center console plastic.

Wow. So no dropping the tranny? Did you take anything else out to get to it? Maybe i just didn't look at it rit but it seems pretty well crammed back there. I could barely fit my wrench in there to bleed the system (which only made the clutch problem worse..)

Bend a new 2 piece steel line to fit down to the new slave. Put the coupler at the highest point and and voila. No dropping tranny at all. (Btw.. my XJ has the T4 not the AX4. Lol